THIS WEEK'S QUESTION

Q. How common is pain after surgery for breast cancer? And what can be done about it?

A. More common than most people realize. Here is another instance in which the feelings of patients have been systematically ignored. For instance, there is no mention of post-mastectomy pain in the major cancer textbooks. Now, an article in the October 1, 1999 issue of the journal Pain shows the actual state of affairs. Scottish researchers surveyed 408 breast cancer survivors who had had mastectomies. And 43 percent revealed that they had suffered from postmastectomy pain, while 29 percent reported current symptoms. There was a high prevalence in younger women (65 percent) which decreased to 26 percent in the over-70 year group.

There are many approaches to the problem of pain, but you may have to try a number of them before you find relief. Physicians sometimes prescribe tricyclic antidepressants or other drugs. Some kinds of pain are relieved by anticonvulsants or corticosteroids. There are also trigger point injections, neural blockade, and nitrous oxide inhalations. And, if all else fails, neurosurgery is sometimes employed.

ALTERNATIVE TECHNIQUES

Alternative medicine has contributed many promising approaches, such as acupuncture and its offshoot, TENS. See if you can find a skilled Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioner in your area. There are also psychological techniques that can help relieve pain, such as hypnosis, relaxation training, biofeedback, and imagery.

Some herbal treatments that are said to be effective include the Chinese herb corydalis, as well as echinacea, butterbur, lapacho (pau d'arco) and meadowsweet and white willow, both of which contain the precursor of aspirin. Many patients report that one or two coffee enemas per day are both relaxing and pain relieving. Vitamin K1 also has pain relieving properties, but it is important to check with your doctor to find out if this is safe for you to take, as it can interact with certain drugs.

We also have a Moss Report on the topic of breast cancer as we have for other types of cancer. Also please see my book, Cancer Therapy, for a discussion of 102 other non-conventional cancer treatments.

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In addition, Moss Reports clients can ask questions directly to Dr. Moss's associate, Anne Beattie by emailing her at TMRAnne@aol.com.

If you have questions about purchasing a Moss Report for a particular kind of cancer, you can call our office at 718-636-4433 or you can order your Moss Report BY CLICKING HERE via our secure order form, and ask your question in the box provided

Ralph W. Moss, Ph.D. is director of the The Moss Reports for cancer patients. Dr. Moss is the author of eleven books and three documentaries on cancer-related topics. He is or has been an advisor on alternative cancer treatments to the National Institutes of Health, the National Cancer Institute, the American Urological Association, Columbia University, the University of Texas, the Susan G. Komen Foundation and the German Society of Oncology. He wrote the first article on alternative medicine for the Encyclopedia Britannica yearbook. He is listed in Marquis Who's Who in America, Who's Who in the World, Who's Who in the East, and Who's Who in Entertainment (as a film documentarian). This Web site does not advocate any particular treatment for cancer. We urge you to always seek competent medical advice for all health problems, especially cancer. Before consulting our site please read our full Disclaimer statement.

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